EU beef imports increased by more than 20,000t in the period January to May 2018, according the latest figures from the European Commission.

A total of 142,150t of beef was imported into the EU during this period, with the rise in imports driven primarily by higher volumes of Brazilian beef – with a total of 58,928.76t coming into the EU from Brazil in this period.

The volume of beef imported from Argentina has also increased, with a rise of 6,213t compared to 2017.

Reduced import volumes were recorded from both Uruguay and the USA.